Hetal - My Success Story
I found out about the apprenticeship scheme on business administration at Chestnuts House through Connexions. Connexions are a place where they give advice and information to young people. I went to Connexions and they gave me an information pack on business administration. I went to Chestnuts House the next day and I sat an English and maths test and successfully passed both tests. I then came back the following week and they reviewed us and were keeping a close eye on us to see if our attendance and punctuality was good and handing in our work on time and stuff.
I successfully passed the 6-week Entry to Employment induction scheme and got straight on to the apprenticeship scheme. I started at Waltham Forest Direct (WFD) call centre in December 2005 and have been there since. I used to go to Chestnuts House one day a week on Wednesday to do the theory side of the course.
The rest of the week I came to work and done the practical side of college work. I went to the WFD shop at Walthamstow and town hall reception and also covered Silver birch house reception so in my role as a customer service advisor I have gained a lot of experience and I am now a confident customer advisor.
Also at WFD I have had various amounts of training such as in house and out house training. I have now successfully got a 12-month contract with WFD after a successful first time interview.
The staff and teachers have been very helpful at my time at Chestnuts House and always helped me in my work. They are very caring and supportive, with out them I wouldn?t have been able to complete the course. I appreciate the help and support that they have given me.
- "I want more cooking skills and I want to learn how to follow a recipe."
"I'm useless in the kitchen. That's why I'm here. I attempt to cook for my family - but I'm no good at it." - "It's the highlight of the week. I really look forward to my Spanish class - and it feels great being able to speak Spanish in Spain."
- "The standard of most work is excellent, with some better described as exceptional."
City and Guilds examiner reporting on CLaSS's fashion and textiles work. - "I'm getting on for 84 now. I couldn't believe my luck last year when I realised I could attend basic computer classes. I started with the complete basics and I now have qualifications in word processing and databases - and have started my own blog."
- "My friends in other parts of London are astonished by what you can do here in Waltham Forest. The British Wheel of Yoga Foundation course was inspirational - and I am now well on the way to becoming a fully qualified yoga teacher. Carry on the good work, CLaSS!"
- "My brother was born deaf. None of us - my parents or my other brothers - ever learnt sign language. I can't believe that now. It seems so wrong. Now thanks to CLaSS I've really learnt to communicate properly with my brother"
- "I work at an estate agents as a receptionist. I mentioned I was taking a photography course with CLaSS and now I do all the property shoots. I'm even getting paid a bit more!"
- "I speak four languages and have been an interpreter for five years - but I've never had any formal training before now. This course is amazing - if we discuss something on our course one week,it always comes up at work the next - like not going inside the house before the social worker arrives."
- "Parenting courses are great! You realise that everyone has the same worries as you - and that there are practical strategies you can learn that really do work. I thank the Lord for the Calm Parent - Calm Children course I attended."
- "I cook - but I don't follow recipes and amounts. My daughter is doing cookery GCSE at school and I'd like to help her with that."
